I appreciated the article about Worlds top swimmers in the most recent USMS email news. However, only Americans were mentioned. I think we should expand our coverage to include news of Masters swimmers abroad, and I wanted to be able to discuss the point. To sneak in some ideas here, I suggest first that it could add much interest to know from which nations top swimmers come, and something of their background. But there's another point that I appreciate from my day job which is policy research. Since the 1960s (when the U.S. was an overwhelmingly dominant power) the U.S. has become insular in its news and focus. Big mistake! Others have profited from our experience in the past and an increasing number of nations are now passing us in many societal and economic indices (we were 9th in nominal GDP per capita in 2011). it's high time to stop assuming we don't need insights from abroad.
Cheers, Frank
The original article just came out in Swimming World Magazine and has the profile of all 12 World Masters Swimmers of the Year including those from Spain, Japan, Italy, Canada, France (2) , and Bulgaria. Not to mention the runners-up from: Great Britain, Austraiia (2) and Germany (2).
Do you know what the US in USMS stands for?
Seriously, though I think it would be a great idea to have a regular feature on what's going on in Masters Swimming in other countries.
